Article ID: 26

 

Added: March 28, 2008

Category: General

 

 

Background

 

This site presents current hardware that is compatible with BrailleNote.

 

One of the questions on the BrailleNote List is, "what are some devices that are compatible with BrailleNote?" In this site I'll try my best to list the hardware compatibility list for BrailleNote. Note that this information is provided thanks to HumanWare.--Source: HumanWare. "What products are compatible with BrailleNote mPower, PK, Classic?" Accessed: December 10, 2008.

 

 

Notes on the compatibility list

 

Note that the list below is based on BrailleNote mPower. Printers and embossers are not listed for PK (since this unit does not have printing or embossing functions), and no USB devices are listed under Classic and PK (since these units do not have USB host ports; PK, however, has a USB client port). Information is current as of December 2008 with KeySoft 7.5.29.

 

 

Memory cards

 

Note: Memory card technology changes rapidly. The largest memory card capacity in existence (as of March 2008) is 64 GB for CompactFlash (CF) card and 8 GB for SD (Secure Digital) cards. Please note that SDHC (SD High Capacity) cards above 4 GB is not supported on the mPower.

 

 

CompactFlash

 

CompactFlash can be used on its own (on the back of the BrailleNote, there is a slot for CF cards) or in conjunction with a PC card adapter (on the right side of the BrailleNote mPower and Classic). Note that mPower does not accept 5 volt cards. All cards are assumed to work on all models - thus, only manufacturer, memory size and category e.g. Platinum, Ultra, etc. are listed here.

 

• Lexar 128 MB-16 GB (Value, Platinum, Pro)
• KeyMem 128 MB-8 GB (Standard)
• Kingston 64 MB-16 GB (Standard, Elite Pro, Ultimate)
• Sandisk 64 MB-16 GB (Standard, Ultra II-III, Extreme III) 8GB Ultra II-III, Extreme III-IV
• Sandisk Sdwcfb-128-768 Connect+WiFi + Memory Wireless 802.11b & 128 MB Type 1 CF Card
• Viking 64MB-8GB (Standard, High Speed, Professional)
• And many others, including PNY, Toshiba, etc.

 

 

 

Secure Digital

 

Note: Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) cards does not work with BrailleNote mPower (see relevant article under support Hotline (not availible yet) for more information).

 

• Lexar 64MB-2GB Value, Platinum, Pro
• Kingston 64MB-2GB Standard, Elite Pro, Ultimate
• SanDisk 64MB-2GB Standard, Ultra II-II Plus, Extreme III
• Viking 64MB-2GB Standard, High Speed, Professional
• And others as long as it is not an SDHC card.

 

 

PC card

 

Note: PC (or PCMCIA) cards only work with brailleNote Classic and mPower. In addition, mPower does not support 5 volt cards.

 

• Kingston DP-PCM2-5GB DataPak 5GB micro drive Type II PCMCIA (PC card)
• Toshiba MK5002MPL PCMCIA 5GB micro drive Type II PCMCIA (PC card)
• And other such cards.

 

 

USB Storage Devices

 

Note: Only mPower has USB host ports. Also note that some USB devices draw more current than others, requiring an AC adapter (a good example would be 3.5 inch external desktop hard drives).

 

 

USB Flash Drives

 

Known by various names, including thumb drive, jump drive, key drive, etc. Note that minimum and maximum capacity of these devices are my own guesses and can change rapidly.

 

• Memorex 128MB-4 GB USB thumb drive
• PNY Attache 128MB-8GB USB Thumb Key
• SanDisk Mini Kruzer 512MB-4GB USB thumb drive
• San Disk Titanium Kruzer 512MB-8GB jump drive
• Staples Relay 512MB-4GB USB thumb drive
• And many more from companies such as Toshiba, Kingston, etc.

 

 

 

External Hard Disk Drive

 

These are essentially conventional hard drives encased in a drive enclosure. Many companies which produce internal hard disks manufacture external versions of their drives. Some others sell external enclosures to allow internal hard disk to be converted to external drive.

 

• Apple Ipod shuffle 1GB (and other iPod models)
• ARCHOS Arcdisk 20GB USB portable hard disk (among others)
• I/Omagic Gigabank 4GB USB hard disk (along with other models)
• iRiver H340 40GB USB hard disk (technically an mp3 player, plus other models)
• Toshiba (including 30, 60 and upper models up to 500 GB)
• Western Digital Passport (2.5 inch portable drive; capacity ranges between 80 GB to 250 GB. WD's desktop models up to 1TB (Terabyte = 1000 GB) will work with braillenOte with a power adapter.)
• And others such as Seagate, Maxtor, etc.

 

 

External Floppy Disk Drive

 

These are external versions of floppy disk drives. All of them are USB drives and shows up as Floppy Drive on the mPower.

 

• Dynex DX-EF101 External 3.5" Floppy Drive USB
• LaCie LaCie Pocket Floppy Disk Drive USB
• SmartDisk FDUSB-TM2 Floppy Disk Drive USB
• TDK USB Floppy Drives
• And other floppy drives.

 

 

Printers and Embossers

 

Note: BrailleNote PK does not support printers nor embossers. Also only mPower supports USB printers; to use parallel port printers or embossers, use USB to parallel converter or Bluetooth to parallel conver as listed below.

 

Printers

 

• Brother HL 5140 Laser Printer With Bluetake BT200 adapter
• Canon BubbleJet i80 IrDA1.1, BlueTooth
• Canon BubbleJet BJC-85 Mobile printer. IrDA1.1, USB
• Canon Pixma iP90 Bubble Jet Printer IrDA1.1
• Epson STYLUS C84 With USB to parallel adaptor (mPower), parallel (Classic)
• Epson STYLUS C86 With USB to parallel adaptor (mPower), parallel (Classic)
• Epson lx310
• HP DeskJet 450ci, cbi, wbt Mobile Printer, USB, IR - optional Battery and Bluetooth
• HP DeskJet 460 cb,wf Mobile Printer, USB, IR - optional Battery, Bluetooth. Printer requires the latest firmware upgrade from www.hp.com
• HP DeskJet 810c
• HP DeskJet 845c USB
• HP DeskJet 895c USB
• HP DeskJet 930c USB
• HP DeskJet 960c USB
• HP Deskjet 970 CSE USB
• HP Deskjet 3200 Series USB
• HP Deskjet 5440 USB
• HP Deskjet 5650 USB
• HP DeskJet 6122 Does not work well with foreign languages
• HP DeskJet 6540
• HP Deskjet 9800
• HP DeskJet 6988
• HP DeskJet 6940
• HP DeskJet 470, cbi, wbt Mobile Printer, USB - optional Battery and Bluetooth
• HP LaserJet 1012 Turn on the BrailleNote after connecting the USB printer cable. If a "card not recognised" message is heard, press ENTER and continue.
• Hp K8600
• HP LaserJet 1150
• HP LaserJet 1160
• HP LaserJet 1200
• HP LaserJet 1320
• HP LaserJet 2420
• HP LaserJet 2600N USB, Ethernet
• HP OfficeJet AIO V40
• HP OfficeJet Pro K550
• HP Office Jet H470
• HP OfficeJet J6480 All in One - model CB029A
• HP OfficeJet 6310 All in One - model Q8061A #ABA
• HP office jet k5400
• HP Photosmart 7160
• HP Photosmart 7850
• HP Photosmart C5280 All in One Printer (works via USB only)
• HP PhotoSmart D5360
• HP Photosmart c6280
• HP Photo Smart d7650
• Lexmark E321 via USB with KeySoft 7.2 or higher
• Samsung Laser ML-2250 USB, parallel

 

Embossers

 

The below devices are parallel port devices; to use either UsB or Bluetooth conneciton, obtain either UsB to parallel or Bluetooth to parallel adapters.

 

• Enabling Juliet
• Enabling Juliet Pro
• Enabling Romeo Attache
•  Enabling Romeo Attache Pro
• Mount Batten electronic brailler
• And similar embossers, including embossers from Tiger series and Index series.

 

 

Other devices

 

The below devices include adapters, keyboards and so on.

 

Keyboards

 

Keyboards are useful for entering text using QWERTY input; useful for BT users. Note: mPower and PK can utilize Bluetooth QWERTY keyboards; in addition, mPower can use USB keyboards.

 

• Logitech diNovo Bluetooth Keyboard USB dongle but will pair with BrailleNote Bluetooth
• Logitech Mx 3000 Cordless Desktop USB dongle
• Microsoft M54-00004 Wireless Optical Desktop for Bluetooth USB dongle but will pair with BrailleNote Bluetooth
• Microsoft WBR0295 Bluetooth Optical Keyboard USB dongle but will pair with BrailleNote Bluetooth
• Think Outside Stow Away BlueTooth keyboard USB dongle but will pair with BrailleNote Bluetooth
• Grandtec Virtually Indestructible Keyboard Flexible, Rollable
• And any other USB and Bluetooth keyboards from companies such as HP and Kensington.

 

 

Adapters

 

These convert one connection standard to another e.g. Bluetooth to parallel port conversion. Useful for mPower users who use parallel port devices.

 

• ACTiSYS Infrared to parallel converter ACT-IR100M
• Extended Systems Infrared to Parallel Adapter Jeteye - ESI-9580A
• BlueTake Bluetooth to Parallel converter BT200 For use on printer. Will receive Bluetoothâ„¢ signal from Notetaker.
• Belkin USB to parallel converter - F5U002
• Digi USB to multi interface Edgeport 421 (4USB, 2Serial, 1 Parallel) First you must connect cable then turn on mPower
• D-link USB to Parallel DSB-P36 First you must connect cable then turn on mPower
• Dynex USB to Parallel DX-UBPC First you must connect cable then turn on mPower
• Hawking USB to Parallel converter HUC1284P Turn off printer and MPower first, then attach USB to parallel converter, then turn on printer and then MPower
• IOgear USB to Serial converter - GUC1284B
• RadioShack USB to Parallel Converter Model: 26-184 First you must connect cable then turn on mPower
• StarTech USB to Parallel Converter - ICUSB1284
• And other converters.

 

 

  Networking

 

The devices below allow BrailleNote to connect to the Internet.

 

Wired Ethernet (LAN)

 

Note: Requires KeySoft 4.0 with Internet capability.

 

• Socket EA2902-139 Rugged Low Power Ethernet Type 1 CF

 

 

Wireless Ethernet (WiFi or WLAN)

 

Note: Requires KeySoft 6.0 (PK), 6.1 (Classic), 6.2 (mPower) or later.

 

• Ambicom WL1100C-CF revision 2only Type 1 CF 802.11b 11Mbps
• SanDisk SDWCFB-128-768 Connect Plus WiFi + Memory card Type 1 CF 802.11b & 128 MB (mPower and PK)
• CISCO Aironet 340/350 Series PCMCIA, 802.1 1b 11Mbps (Classic only)
• Ambicom WL54G 802.11G (mPower with KeySoft 7.5.29 or later)
• And other companies including Netgear, Linksys, etc.

 

Updated: December 10, 2008